Yeah, I don't think social media satisfies our need for community. I do participate in some other online groups that do provide some of that (especially my sangha). But I live in a town where the type of easy interaction you talk about is hard! I didn't have it before the pandemic and I certainly don't have it now. I try to get it in my neighborhood by going for a walk at the time of day people go for walks and talking to my neighbors. That's about as close as it gets. It is a thing that's missing. There isn't a local coffee shop to sit outside at (and I am so not a bar person). It's pretty constantly on my mind. I've learned some things from recent discussions on Anne Helen Peterson's substack (https://annehelen.substack.com) that give me some ideas, but it is not easy here in the outer edges of suburbia where everyone retreats to their own homes.
Thanks for the newsletter recommendation! Yes, I wish I could say that I wisely chose to live in this community, given that this is one of the things I'm supposed to be an expert on, but I didn't. I lucked out. But I see my family and other people out in the burbs and it's hard to find community. Not impossible, just like there are some people who resist the hell out of community even in a town like Madison, where our homes are literally attached to each other.
Yeah, I don't think social media satisfies our need for community. I do participate in some other online groups that do provide some of that (especially my sangha). But I live in a town where the type of easy interaction you talk about is hard! I didn't have it before the pandemic and I certainly don't have it now. I try to get it in my neighborhood by going for a walk at the time of day people go for walks and talking to my neighbors. That's about as close as it gets. It is a thing that's missing. There isn't a local coffee shop to sit outside at (and I am so not a bar person). It's pretty constantly on my mind. I've learned some things from recent discussions on Anne Helen Peterson's substack (https://annehelen.substack.com) that give me some ideas, but it is not easy here in the outer edges of suburbia where everyone retreats to their own homes.
Thanks for the newsletter recommendation! Yes, I wish I could say that I wisely chose to live in this community, given that this is one of the things I'm supposed to be an expert on, but I didn't. I lucked out. But I see my family and other people out in the burbs and it's hard to find community. Not impossible, just like there are some people who resist the hell out of community even in a town like Madison, where our homes are literally attached to each other.
❤️